Understanding and Using English Grammar Interactive- Betty’s Talking Heads

The Talking Heads were developed to introduce grammar charts on the CD-ROMs that accompany Understanding and Using English Grammar (blue book) and Fundamentals of English Grammar (black book). I wanted to find a way to speak directly to students who were using a computer program. To do this, I came up with the solution of creating grammar characters, animated cartoon characters named for aspects of English grammar. I affectionately call them Talking Heads.

These characters are the closest I could come to getting inside a computer myself and talking directly to the learner. Creating these grammar characters is some of the most enjoyable writing I've ever done.

I wanted to bring fun and a human presence to the computer screen along with effective pedagogy.

The Talking Heads

* point out things to notice in a chart, * place structures in context, * summarize key grammar points, * anticipate questions and problem areas, * make information in a chart accessible, * get students ready for practice activities, and * very importantly, engage and motivate students.

In other words, the Talking Heads do, at least in part, what teachers naturally do when discussing grammar with their students.

Another purpose of the talking heads is to expose students to a variety of speaking styles in conversational English.

Those of you who are experienced teachers might find it interesting to see how I, as the author of the charts, would talk about the grammar to students; perhaps less experienced teachers might get some new ideas about how to approach grammar charts in their classes.

The voluminous practice material on the CD-ROMs isn't available here, but the Talking Heads are here for you to use in any way you find helpful. Whatever the case, I hope you enjoy my characters — they run the gamut of human personalities.

* UUEGi 9-1 Introduction * UUEGi 9-2 Polite questions with I as the subject * UUEGi 9-3 Polite questions with you as the subject * UUEGi 9-4 Polite requests with would you mind * UUEGi 9-5 Expressing necessity: must, have to, have got to * UUEGi 9-6 Lack of necessity and prohibition: have to and must in the negative * UUEGi 9-7 Advisability: should, ought to, had better * UUEGi 9-8 The past form of should * UUEGi 9-9 Expectations: be supposed to * UUEGi 9-10 Making suggestions: let's, why don't, shall I/we * UUEGi 9-11 Making suggestions: could vs. should

* UUEGi 15-0 Overview * UUEGi 15-1 Infinitive of purpose: in order to * UUEGi 15-2 Adjectives followed by infinitives * UUEGi 15-3 Using infinitves with too and enough * UUEGi 15-4 Passive and past forms of infinitives and gerunds * UUEGi 15-5 Using gerunds or passive infinitives following need * UUEGi 15-6 Using a possessive to modify a gerund * UUEGi 15-7 Using verbs of perception * UUEGi 15-8 Using the simple form after let and help * UUEGi 15-9 Using causative verbs: make, have, get

Each Talking Head animation talks about a grammar point. Open a chapter and choose a grammar topic to open the animation. Click the play button at the top right of the animation's text box to play the animation.